New Lancashire schools will be in a class of their own

The new schools, built on sites at Burnley Campus, Pendle Vale, in Nelson and Shuttleworth College in Padiham are in the first wave of Lancashire County Council’s £250 million Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme.

All three sites are packed with technology that will cut carbon emissions, slash energy bills and give pupils the chance to learn more about sustainability in action.

It was Catalyst Lend Lease’s emphasis on sustainability that helped the company to win the contract as the county council’s partner in the development and running of this new generation of BSF schools. Now, as the first schools near completion, builders and engineers are busy installing the plant and equipment that will deliver a host of environmental benefits.{mosimage}

“Our goal is to set new standards of sustainability with these schools,” said David Snowdon, Catalyst Lend Lease’s general manager of the Local Education Partnership with the county council. “They are designed, built and equipped for maximum energy efficiency and minimum carbon emissions.

“We also want them to be living and practical examples of sustainability in action - places of learning where pupils, parents, teachers and the public can all see for themselves how modern technology is helping us to tackle some of the critical issues of climate change.”

Biomass boilers will make the biggest impact on the schools’ carbon footprint.
Designed and manufactured in Austria and fuelled by woodchips, these boilers are virtually carbon neutral in operation. One biomass boiler has been installed at each site, serving as the main source of heat and hot water, supplemented by twin gas-fired boilers.

Dual sources of fuel mean the schools can remain open at all times, even if there is a disruption to one or other of the fuel supplies. The woodchips will be supplied by a newly-formed local business so there is also a useful community gain with the creation of new jobs and income for the area.

Wherever practical the schools use natural ventilation but some parts of the buildings, such as the kitchens, do require air handling units to help control temperatures. These units are fitted with heat recovery systems that extract the heat from re-circulated air and reuse it to warm other parts of the buildings, such as the hydrotherapy pools that are being provided for pupils’ and community use at Burnley Campus and Pendle Vale.

At these two sites the main source of heating for the pools will be combined heat and power units. These are fuelled by gas but are able to supply both heat and electricity. This electricity is generated as a by-product of the heating process and is therefore a virtually carbon-free source of power.

The weather is also set to play an important part in trimming energy bills. Photo-voltaic cells built into the windows will convert sunlight into electricity that can be used to supplement the schools’ mains supplies, while roof-top solar collectors will help pre-heat their domestic water systems. Each site will also be equipped with a 6 kilowatt wind turbine to generate a further supply of electricity.{mosimage}

And when it rains water from the rooftops won’t be wasted. Instead of disappearing down the drain it will flow into underground rainwater harvesting systems, where it can be stored and used to top up the mains water required to flush the schools’ lavatories.

Education is also an important part of this whole process. Key components of the plant and equipment will be presented in a way that helps to demonstrate the part they play in achieving sustainability.

The schools’ biomass boilers and other heating plant will be visible behind glass screens to give pupils an insight into how they work. Clear sections of pipework will enable them to see the rainwater harvesting system in action, and electronic display units around the schools will provide regular updates on carbon savings, energy
usage and water consumption.

Catalyst Lend Lease and its information technology partner Redstone Communications are also developing a web portal that will give pupils a detailed explanation of all the energy saving technology and sustainability measures built into their new schools.

The portal will carry manufacturers’ information about the many different systems and links to their websites, together with data showing how the systems are saving energy and the impact those savings are making on the schools’ carbon
footprints. With increasing world-wide concern about global warming, sustainability will feature strongly in the schools’ teaching syllabus and the new portal is intended to be an aid to teachers as well as pupils.

County Councillor Marcus Johnstone, Lancashire County Council’s cabinet member for children and young people said: “The county council is encouraging community groups and individual citizens to do everything they can to tackle climate change.

“It is vital that our new school buildings set an example and give our young people the opportunity to learn about managing levels of energy and water use.”

Burnley Campus will be the site of Burnley Schools’ Sixth Form, Barden Primary School, Reedley Hallows Nursery School and Children’s Centre, Holly Grove School, Burnley and Pendle Faith Centre, a public library and a coffee bar.